FAQ Section

Installing CAT 5E Plugs on CAT 6 Cable

[A] In an effort to save money towards the cost of CAT 6 rated RJ45 plugs, many installers have asked about using standard CAT 5E RJ45 Plugs on CAT 6 Cable.

There are several considerations that must be looked at to answer this question accurately:

CAT 6 Cable has a slightly larger diameter for each of the individual 8 wires within the jacket. Standard CAT 5E RJ45 plugs are designed to accommodate the smaller gauge CAT 5E Cable, and these plugs are designed with very close tolerances. It will be extremely difficult to consistently force the larger wire into the individual guides within the plug, and therefore the installer will experience a great deal of mis-crimps and other errors. In short, it is not recommended.

Second, almost all of the CAT 6 RJ45 plugs that are being produced are designed to minimize the amount of wire that is untwisted near the copper connectors within the plug. Even if you are successful at forcing the larger wire into a smaller CAT 5E connector, you cannot be certain you will properly meet this requirement.

Finally, there are many consideration when you think about the ability to certify your network for Gigabit applications. If you mix CAT 6 Cable with CAT 5E plugs, no matter how well you manage to assemble the cables you will never be able to verify the connection for Gigabit applications. It is worth the extra money to use the properly rated plugs for this application, and ensure success.

In any case, it would be a good idea to seek the advice of a networking professional before considering this application.